Brett Gardner is near the end of his career, yet was recently signed by the Yankees as insurance. He will be an able backup in the outfield if one of the outstanding regulars is placed on the DL next year.
Unlike in 2018, manager Aaron Boone will sleep more comfortably at night knowing that a reliable substitute like Gardy is on the bench. Furthermore, his new salary is modest and won’t prevent the Yanks from making critical, strategic and likely expensive acquisitions.
During this past season, Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks, in addition to other Yanks, were injured and placed on the DL for a substantial amount of time.